Tonight, Facebook is unveiling its completed New York office, which was designed, like its upcoming Menlo Park compound, by Gehry Partners LLP, the firm of twinkling silver starchitect Frank Gehry, who recently described billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as a "very focused kid." For those who didn't get the invite, the Wall Street Journal has some photographs of the finished space being worked, played, and lounged in by some of Facebook's 500-or-so New York-based employees. (Update: So does Curbed NY.)
According to the Journal, the social media giant hopes its downtown location at 770 Broadway will serve as a both a recruiting tool and a "catalyst" for the growing NYC tech industry, while mimicking the so-called "Google effect" produced by Google's Chelsea office, which supposedly sped up the development of Midtown South.
Here's how the Journal describes the interior:
"The space has open-floor layouts that allow natural light to flow through it. A library paneled in Douglas fir plywood and with tall windows offers a quiet space. Everywhere, the ceilings are high and exposed, and the walls are hung with large-scale commissioned art pieces, do-it-yourself posters and décor from employees. On some columns, designers have left behind a layer of terra-cotta discovered during demolition, as a nod to the building's history." Gehry Partners partner Craig Webb says that the firm avoided creating a "pristine environment." He and his team "love clutter," and tried to "create an environment where people can bring their own stuff in. That rawness allows that kind of freedom."
Of course, this being a modern office, there are certain things a Facebook employee does not have to bring in. The coffee bar offers four different kinds of coffee and five different preparation methods. Dishes in the cafeteria, created by executive chef Nate Eckhaus, have labels noting their provenance, "as in, organic red cabbage from a New Jersey farm or shaved organic fennel from Pennsylvania."
Sounds like a cool place to work.
· Facebook Sees Midtown South Office as Recruitment Tool [Wall Street Journal]
· See What Frank Gehry is Doing for Facebook's NYC HQ [Curbed National]